New Love
by Pachute
Summary: What happens when the person Max leans on most is gone? Max has to move with one less person she loves and has to enter a whole new world of parties, boys, and drama. Will she fall or will she be able to get past junior year? All human! FAX!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey readers! I'm new to this whole fanfiction thing and this is my first fanfiction so no haters but I would LOVE to get ideas on how to make my writing/fanfics better! **

**Max's POV**

The repetitive sound of beeping caused me to roll over. I grabbed my alarm clock and began turning it over to find the right button. Let me say, it's hard to do when you're half asleep. Once the beeping stopped, I realized that I didn't even need my alarm clock in the first place—it's Saturday. I groaned as I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and began rubbing my eyes.

"MAX," my brother, Ari, called from downstairs. "C'mon, we're gonna be late!"

I slouched as I dragged myself into the hallway. I continued to the railing and saw my brother tapping his foot and the bottom stair. "Why do I need to get ready? It's the weekend," I mumbled to him.

_"Exactly._ Don't tell me you forgot about it," said Ari in an agitated voice. That's when my eyes widened as it all came back to me. Today was moving day and I had to say goodbye to the person I loved most, Maya. "Now get ready, we leave in five," Ari continued as he turned away from the stairs.

I walked back into my almost empty room and grabbed one of the only things in the room. A pair of jeans and a red tank with black high-top converse lay against the only piece of furniture in the room—my mattress. I quickly changed into my clothes and didn't bother going to look in a mirror to brush my hair or teeth. I already knew I was a mess; the mirror didn't have to tell me too. _Anyways,_ all of my 'get ready' stuff was already packed in the car. I grabbed my pajamas and hopped down the stairs to see my whole family—except for Ari—looking groggy and tired. My mom was on the phone and I picked up part of her conversation.

"—I know I'm late but we'll be there soon. After we get there, however, you're going to have to come back to the house for a few other items. Thanks, see you in ten minutes." She finished the last sentence with a glance over to me.

"It's about time Max. You're sister has to leave for her flight soon and we still have to meet her at our _new _ house," my mom said as she shoved her keys and a few other necessities into her purse. "By the way, you look like a mess."

"Well, first of all, how can you expect me to get ready if you packed all of my stuff? And second, she's the one leaving us, so she could be late for all I could care," I simply stated as I turned away from my mother, hearing her gasp.

"MAX—" my mother scolded before she was cut off by the action of my father gently laying a hand on her shoulder. He leaned down and whispered something in her ear and that's when my mom stood up, grumbling as she went outside.

" Max," my father said gently as I turned around. "You know this is a big opportunity for her and she would take you with if she could. But…not everyone gets accepted into private academies with these complications. Maya is just lucky that she's good at singing and not…hmph... but that's…" my dad couldn't grasp the right words while his brows furrowed in concentration. At this point I wanted to direct my feelings towards that oh-so-innocent wall, when I noticed Ari watching me with concern. Ari wasn't too happy with the fact that Maya was leaving us to go move to Arizona but wasn't nearly as upset as I was. Maya was _always _there for me, as was I for her, and we did everything together, since we are twins. We always laughed at the same jokes and played the same things but now she's _leaving me._ Now I'll be _alone._

Since Maya is leaving, we decided to move. We already lived in a big house as it is, so with only four people, my dad decided to save money and live in a smaller home; _cozy,_ was the word Mom preferred to use. We moved only two hours away so we could start fresh. No one will know us and that's a good thing considering my dad's actions in the past. New house also meant new school, _not_ something Ari and I were looking forward to. Most people saw me as mean, while I called it sarcasm. At my old school I only had a few friends. Omega and J.J were the only people who actually talked to me and that was only because they were in all of my classes, leaving them in no other choice than to endure my wrath.

The reason Ari is upset with the new school is because he was actually _popular_ at our school. He was pretty good at football, and that's it according to my understanding. To other girls it was that he was cute…_please._

"I know, I get it, but that's still—" I was cut off as my mom's voice rang throughout the doorway.

"COME _ON_! MAYA IS WAITING FOR US AT THE AIRPORT," she shouted. After that, I shouldered my way past my father and Ari and headed for the garage where I found my mom pounding the keys of her phone. I opened the back door and got in with Ari in pursuit. After we were all buckled in, we headed for the airport.

* * *

When we got to the airport I was greeted with my sister leaning against the wall, her foot propped up against it as well. The tapping of her other foot rang through the almost-empty airport. Not many people have flights leaving at 4:30 AM. As soon as Maya's eyes glanced up and locked with mine, I ran towards her, not being able to hold myself back. She squeezed me tight and soon the whole family was there, in a big hug around Maya and me.

"I'm gonna miss you," Maya whispered to me.

"Me too," I responded. I backed away so the rest of the family could say goodbye and then it was time for Maya to leave. I gave her a little finger wave and turned around, exiting the airport. I didn't say much, but our expressions said it all. With that, we all headed back to the car and were on our way to our new house. _Fun._

* * *

**1 week later**

I was already on my way to the bus stop for my first day of school when my stomach started churning. First day of school, nobody knows me, I don't know anyone. Even Ari already had friends. The first thing he did when we got home, was to go house-to-house, meeting all of our "fellow neighbors," as he liked to call it. I don't know their names or what they look like, as you can see I'm what they call "unsociable". Instead, I was walking around the neighborhood, familiarizing myself for a fight-or-flight situation. Once I reached the bus stop, I realized Ari was already there, talking to another boy our age. This _boy_ had sleek, and polished black hair suited with olive skin and onyx eyes. For all I knew, it was as if his pupil enlarged to fill his iris, as you couldn't differentiate the two. He was wearing dark jeans with a black T-shirt and a black leather jacket. It definitely gave him a moody look.

"Sis, come over here," Ari motioned over for me to come over. I walked over to them as I started to compose myself.. "This is Fang, Fang this is my little sister Max," Ari started. "This is our neighbor," he directed to me.

"Fang, huh? What does that stand for?" I asked, crinkling up my nose. I didn't get a response, he just stared blankly at me. That's when I saw a yellow object come out of the corner of my vision. The school bus was here. Once Fang walked away, Ari leaned in to whisper something in my ear.

"He doesn't talk much but he's cool once you get to know him," Ari whispered and I shook my head. Ari decided to go sit by Fang on the bus, to get him to talk, leaving me to sit alone. I sat in the front-most seat even though I was a junior at 17 years old and Ari was a senior at 18 years. I don't know what part of the moody turned-towards-window-back-to-everyone-else-ear-buds-in people didn't understand, when my side of the seat lifted as a weight was put on the other side of me.

It was a girl, to my preference, even though I preferred _no one_. She had a mocha color skin tone and curly brown hair that was brushing against my arm, invading my bubble space. When she turned her head, she stared at me for a few seconds before she started rambling.

"Oh my god, you're so pretty. I love your hair, is it dyed? What's your name? Why haven't I seen you before? What grade are you in? My name is Nudge. I'm a junior and I—" the girl said in a breath.

"Wait! Just… stop talking for a second. One question at a time." I began. Geez, this girl talks a lot and fast.

"Okay, sorry about that my friends think I talk too much. And too fast for that matter. What about you? Do you think I talk too much? Stupid question, everyone thinks I talk to much. Okay, first of all, how is your hair so blonde and I'm loving the red stripes of hair in it. It's totes adorbs," Nudge said. I stared at her blankly, not really registering what she was saying. It was too early for this. She blinked twice before moving on.

"Not much of a talker, eh? Next question. What's your name? Are you a junior too? Why haven't I seen you before?" Nudge spat out.

"That was more than one question." Nudge murmured a sorry. "My name is Max and I'm a junior. I just moved here last week so that explains why you haven't seen me before," I said, starting to raise the music louder.

"Well, I can help you around the school and we can be friends since we sit together—" I tuned out the rest of Nudge's speech and turned towards the window. I didn't say another word for the rest of the ride.

* * *

Once the bus screeched to a stop I bolted straight up, not wanting to be in the claustrophobic vehicle for any longer. Nudge and I walked into the building and I pulled one ear bud out to make sure the Nudge Channel was at pause, only to be put to disappointment. She was now going on about this cute senior she saw in the parking lot.

"Now, I have to go to the office to get my schedule so…adios amigo," I plainly stated. I saw Nudge's face contort before she said goodbye and ran forwards, in the same direction I was going. As soon as she was gone, I turned around and ran into something.

"Sorry, I—" I stopped talking as soon as I saw Fang's deep, dark eyes glaring into mine.

He was still clutching my forearms when he growled, "watch where you're going."

I pulled away from him and returned the glare. _Sure, Ari, he's a real charmer once you get to know him._ I soon realized many heads were turned in our direction as the clanking of someone's high-heels echoed throughout the halls. It was my turn to gape as I saw a 'Redheaded Wonder' heading in our direction. I didn't want to get suspended on my first day, I'll save that for my second, so once the girl reached us I headed for the office with only one glance back. When I turned to see the outcome, I saw the redhead _swallowing _Fang with her hands on both sides of his face. Bleh.

Once I reached the office, I saw Nudge waiting in the chair on one side of the room.

"Finally! It's about time you got here. I already got your schedule and I can show you where most of these classes since we have first, sixth, seventh, and eighth period together. But first, I'll take you to your locker," Nudge explained, while standing up from her chair. Without a word, surprisingly, we exited the office to see Fang and the redhead kissing. _Still._

"Ugh. That's Fang, stay away from him. He's super popular for his looks and the sports he plays, _not_ his personality," Nudge snorted. "The slut is Lissa. She's an even bigger threat because she can make your life a living hell. She's caused more pain in those stilettos than Satan himself. _NEVER_ go after someone she once dated, even though that's almost, like, every guy at this school. Pretty much avoid everyone unless I give you the okay signal. Capiche? Come on, this is sickening." I agreed.

To my liking, we didn't talk anymore until we got to what appeared as my locker. My mom came over here to put my books in while I was exploring the town, and I glanced down to my schedule to see what stuff I needed to bring to my first few classes. First, I had math then Spanish. I at least had math with Nudge but for Spanish, I was on my own. I grabbed my supplies listed by Nudge and headed to first hour before making a pit stop at Nudge's own, pink, sparkly, locker.

"Come on, we have Mr. Batchelder for first hour and trust me, you _don't _ want to get on the bad side of him," said Nudge. "We'll sit together, right? I think he lets people sit wherever the first day but I'm not sure." We walked for quite a while longer, memorizing the twisting hallways as we shouldered our way through. "Well this is it." Nudge headed into the room.

Once I stepped into the doorway, I stopped dead in my tracks. In the corner of the room, with his feet on the desk, sat Fang.

I heard someone clear there throat behind me. "Excuse me, but did you forget how to walk?" came a feminine voice behind me, followed by two girls giggling. I turned to see two redheads, one who I recognize as Lissa. I was about to retort something sarcastic when Nudge grabbed my arm and pulled me across the room to the front-most, empty, corner table of four.

"Max! That was too close! Are you not listening to anything I've been saying. _Don't get in the way of Lissa, Brigid, or Fang," _Nudge scolded. Lissa and Brigid. Huh. I guess now I know whose picture to hang on my wall while playing a game of darts. Now I've gotten the name of both she-devils.

"It's just...why do they have to _all _ be in the same class as us? That doesn't help," I whined, knowing it would bug Nudge. Before she could respond, a man stepped in the front of the room as all talking ceased, at the same time the bell rang.

"I see you are all seated already. Well, get up. I already have your assigned seats," Mr. Batchelder said sternly as the class groaned. I grabbed my stuff and stood against my chair, silently praying I would get to sit next to Nudge. I'd rather have around the clock Nudge Channel than a gas-man or nose-picker.

"Maximum, you go sit in the back corner seat. Fang, you sit next to her. Ella across from Fang, and Iggy, across from Max.." Mr. Batchelder pointed to our table. My eyes widened and I gulped as I sat on my chair. _Just great._ A nightmare has just satisfied himself in his chair as I trudged to the table, eyeing the other classmates already there. Nudge ended up sitting in a table with Lissa and a few other kids I didn't know, all the way on the other side of the room. I glanced at Fang and he just smirked. The person sitting in front of me, Iggy, was scrawny, pale, and had strawberry-blonde hair. While Ella, sitting diagonal from me, had brown wavy hair to match her eyes, and tan skin.

I glanced at Nudge to get her attention but she was already looking at me with her large, scared eyes. I nodded my head in Iggy and Ella's direction and she put a universal 'okay' signal with her hands under the table. I exhaled with relief and leaned back in my chair. I zoned out for the rest of class until I noticed something peculiar. The whole class was staring at me and Mr. Batchelder was looking at me expectedly.

"What?" I asked in defeat as the whole class burst out laughing, well everyone except a few.

"Miss Lissa here, volunteered you to answer this question," Mr. Batchelder said, first pointing to Lissa then to the board. I glared at her and she just shrugged with a smug look on her face. I looked at the board and was relieved to see something that I knew the answer to.

"Easy. The answer is—," I answered, bored, until Mr. Batchelder interrupted me.

"Come to the board and show us how you solved this problem." Mr. Batchelder held an uncapped marker out to me. That's when another round of laughter came by as I got to the board and finished showing my work. _What?_ I'm almost positive I got that one right. Almost.

That's when I saw Nudge glare at Lissa and stomp up to me. She ripped a piece of paper off of my back that read _'Kiss me'._ Classic. At the same time, Nudge crinkled up the paper and threw it at the back of Lissa's head. And that, my friends, is how you get sent to the principal's office on the first day of school.

* * *

When the final bell rang, I was more than elated to run to my locker and get out of this hell hole people call school. I went straight to my bus and followed the same moody procedure as this morning. I sat down in the same seat as before, trying to get as far as possible from Fang. Feeling a waft of air, I realized someone came right in the seat next to me. I turn, expecting to see Nudge, only to see a dark shadow. Fang.

"Piss off, Fang, the spot's taken," I growl.

"Not anymore," he said taking off his black backpack. Nudge walked onto the bus to see Fang in her seat as her eyes starting shooting daggers in his direction. Fang kept on an emotionless mask, his eyes on the seat in front of us. Nudge sat in the seat on the other side of us, not taking her glare off of Fang. After the last people sat down, the bus began to move. Fang finally stopped staring at the seat and craned his neck, without moving his broadened shoulders, to look down at me. I was pretty tall for my age but he still had a couple inches on me.

"Max is it?" Fang questioned. I didn't answer but I did lean forward to rest my forehead on the leather seat.

"No," I muttered, this time I turned my head to look at him with narrow eyes.

"Max it is," he stated defiantly.

I pout and go, "Why ask if you already know my name?"

"Just wanted to make some conversation," he says as he puts his hands up in the air in surrender. I snorted. Mr. dark-and-brooding wanted to make small talk. Puh-lease.

I ignored Fang the rest of the bus ride and put my ear buds in. I began to subconsciously hum until we the final stop. Fang and I got up and I went straight to my house, against his protests to make conversation. Once I walked in the house, I could smell something cooking.

"Why are you cooking? We usually just get take-out," I told my mother whom I found at the stove.

"We're having some guests over so dress up, _please_," my mom begged. I snorted. She knows I'm not one to dress up. But she does bake me cookies every time she is pleased with me so… I decided to dress up. Or at least what I thought was dressy. I ran up the stairs and threw my backpack against the door. I quickly changed into a pair of black skinny jeans and an electric purple ruffled tank top. I took a few knots out of my rat's nest and listened to music until it was dinner time.

I heard the doorbell ring and hear my mom call out, "Max! Can you get that?"

I shuffled to the door and when I opened it, I slammed the door shut again. There was Fang, with his midnight colored eyes being the last thing I saw.

**A/N: So I just finished the first chapter! (Pats self on back) The rest of my chapters will be this long (at least 3,000 words) IF THERE WILL BE MORE CHAPTERS. I know the first one was bad and boring but IT WAS the introduction so stay tuned. R/R!**


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: I was sick today so I was able to update quickly. I will always update a new chapter in less than a week but I try to make my chapters lengthy so...yeah. ANYHOW let's just get to the story now...your reviews have been so kind BTW...thx._**_  
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**_DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride or the characters. James Patterson does and although I dream I could be the writer of this awesome series, I don't. Dreams don't come true. Carry on._**

_I shuffled to the door and when I opened it, I slammed the door shut again. There was Fang, with his midnight colored eyes being the last thing I saw._

* * *

I slid down the slammed door with a plop on the ground. I heard Ari pound down the stairs and gave me a confused expression when he saw me. He looked through the glass door and no doubt, he saw Fang standing there.

"Max, move," he said exasperatedly and I shook my head. I then heard the laughs of two little children at the door and craned my neck to see who else was here. There was a little girl and a little boy, both with curly blonde hair and blue eyes. In other words, there were two of the cutest kids I have ever seen at the door. Two little angles next to Satan himself, how sad. Instead of opening the door, however, I got up and let Ari do the rest as I made my way to the kitchen, where my mom was.

"Why did you invite the neighbors?" I glanced around the room and noticed that we set up another large dining table. "Second thought, _how many neighbors did you invite?_"

"I just invited the neighbors next door. On both sides," my mom said cheerfully. I groaned. _How many people will I have to meet? _ Most people wouldn't complain that they would get to meet new people and show off their house. In other words, most people were social. I wasn't, and I'm _not_ looking forward to seeing how many people will join us today.

I wanted to sulk back in my room and stay there for the rest of the night when a cold hand squeezed my shoulder. I whipped my head around to see none other than Fang. I swatted his hand away but he just chuckled. It was one of those slow, deep, chuckles that showed me he was being a tease. I glared at him for third time today and shouldered my way past him, to the door where more people emerged from.

I saw a familiar strawberry blonde duck his way through the door. I definitely remembered this boy. The boy who stuck up for me in a class I didn't have with Nudge. The boy who let Nudge and I sit with him and his friends at lunch, which to my disapproval, involved Fang. The boy who immediately became one of the best friends I've ever had in one, dare I say, short day. The boy whose name was Iggy. Iggy quickly made his way through the chatter of adults and headed straight for me.

"Hey," Iggy greeted and I said the same. We went to the two tables in the kitchen, both seated six people. The adults followed us into the kitchen and took a seat at the fancier table. Iggy's parents, my parents, and Fang's parents began talking immediately, before the food was even served. Ari glanced over at the "kids" table and decided to pull up a chair and sit with the adults. Fang loomed over an empty seat across from me and sat down gracefully. The two children sat on the end seats leaving one open seat next to Fang.

"Is that seat open?" I asked, wondering if I'll have to see yet another person.

"Yup. My sister is coming but she'll be late, if she even makes an appearance," Iggy muttered the last part under his breathe. Before I could ask what her name was, my mom was suddenly there, with five plates balanced on her arms. That's what you're able to do when you are a waitress for years. My mom was serving lasagna, which she took hours to make until it was perfect, mainly because the kitchen nearly caught fire. Twice. She definitely wanted a good first impression although I could care less what most of these nimrods thought of me.

I dug in right away and started shoving pieces of the once-perfect lasagna in my mouth. What can I say? Lasagna's my favorite. I heard another deep chuckle from across the table, obviously from Fang.

"What?" I scowled at him.

"I've never seen a girl eat like that," Fang said comparing his barely touched meal to my almost done meal. I ignored his comment even though I felt proud of myself. It quickly subsided when I heard a knock at the door.

"Not it," I immediately said pointing to Ari. He got up, straightened himself and walked over to the door with no argument. Something was off. I heard a squeaky, girly, voice at the door and dread quickly settled in my stomach. I knew that voice. I saw Ari enter the dining room again, but this time his eyes were wide and I was disgusted.

Lissa walked in with the same attire as she did at school. She showed more skin now, than I did when I wore a bikini, which never happened. Literally. She had the same black, pencil skirt that just reached past her underwear with a really small, pink, crop top that obviously needed a tank. I could just see the bottom of her lacy bra. Her six-inch heels echoed through the hall until she sat in the seat next to Fang, her plate brought to her by Ari. He was literally drooling. Gross.

Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Iggy slump as I got up to grab his ear and pull him out of the room.

"Ouch," Iggy complained. "What was that for?"

"_Lissa's your sister?"_ I whisper-screamed.

"Yeah," Iggy bowed his head in shame. That's when I started cracking up. Real hard. A faint blush spread across Iggy's pale skin as he joined in with a nervous chuckle.

"_How_ can you live with her? She's…she's…" I struggled to find the right words.

"Revolting?" Iggy suggested.

"Revolting doesn't begin to cut it. How can Fang even like her? I mean they are both horrible but—" I was cut off by Iggy.

"Fang's not a horrible person. You just have to see what he's really like," Iggy said in a soft voice. "Here," he said outstretching his hand. It had a little piece of paper in it and I snatched it immediately. "It's my phone number. Text me if you ever want to see the real Fang." At this I snorted. _Actually_ snorted and we started in another round of laughter as we came back to our seats.

I composed myself as I sat down but one more look at Lissa, I couldn't help it. I started cracking up _again._ After a few very-unattractive snorts, Iggy joined in and Lissa just looked at me with disgust. But as soon as Fang joined, I quickly silenced. _He _didn't even know why we were laughing. Would he still be laughing if he knew that the laugh was directed _right at his girlfriend? _Iggy awkwardly coughed and I excused myself. I grabbed my plate and slid it across the counter, into the sink.

My mom was watching me with an evil eye but I didn't care. I ran up the stairs and slammed the door to give the hint to everyone down there that I was done. No more slutty girls. No more mysterious guys. No more screeching children, _no matter how adorable they are._ No more. I quickly changed into shorts and a tank and hopped into my bed. I closed my eyes and ended up falling asleep. The last thing I remember is a person drifting into the room.

* * *

I woke with a start, no help from my alarm clock this time. I still had twenty minutes until my clock was supposed to go off. Sweat was plastering my hair to my neck and forehead. With a sigh, I placed a hand over my heart, feeling it race as I plopped backwards into my bed. I had a nightmare…_again._ I kept having the same dream over and over again, where somewhere was chasing me but no matter how hard I ran, I wasn't getting any farther from them. I always wake up the second the indistinguishable person grabs my shoulders and makes me turn around, right before I can look up in their face.

I turned off my alarm clock and decided to start getting ready. I hid my tan legs behind another pair of skinny jeans and a baggy T-shirt that read 'Revenge' in a blood red. I threw my hair in a messy bun and quickly finished getting ready. I walked down the hallway and found Ari snoring in his room, twelve minutes until his alarm clock goes off.

I grabbed a black permanent marker from my backpack and snickered. I crept into his room and glanced at the clock, eleven minutes. I uncapped it and he stirred. I froze and after a short moment, I began drawing. I drew a moustache, a beard that stretched from one ear to the other, and a unibrow. I knew he was a heavy sleeper so I grabbed some of my mom's lady-smelling shampoo. I rubbed it all over his head, drenching it while I was at it. I quickly capped the marker and grabbed the shampoo and tip-toed out of the room, just as his alarm clock went off. I ran down the stairs and out the door. Might as well be early to the bus-stop today.

Within the next few minutes, I see Iggy leave his house with his backpack slung over one arm. Once he gets over here, I tell him what I did to Ari and we start sniggering.

"So…" Iggy starts. "One of my friends is throwing a party Friday night and I was wondering if you wanted to come with and we could hang out there." A slight blush begins to bloom across his cheeks and his ears turn bright pink. I ponder it for a moment and think, _what would Nudge want me to do?_

"Sure, Iggy. I'll go with you. Where is it?" I say and a smile begins to spread on his face. He opens his mouth to answer but Ari cuts him off with a shout.

"MAX!" Ari yells. "How could you! You ruined _everything__?"_ Ari raised his voice at the last part and Iggy turns his head to look at Ari. He's running out of the house, which is only a few houses down, and his face is red. Either from rage, embarrassment, or trying to rub of the marker, I didn't know. The marker stood out even more and Iggy and I started cracking up as Iggy gave me a high-five. When he got closer I noticed his hair. Uh-oh. The shampoo only didn't make him sound like a fifty year old woman, it also dyed his hair a light blonde, mixed in with his average dark brown hair. He was pissed and I knew how he was with his tempers.

Ari walks up to me, even as I put my hands up in surrender, and grabs my shoulders and starts shaking me but it didn't change anything and I continued to laugh. He didn't stop shaking me and I started to get dizzy. He pushed me into the stop sign and it was hard. Stars began dancing in front of my vision as the metal continued to vibrate. From the looks of it, he wasn't going to stop till I was on the ground, bleeding in more than one place. That's usually how things ended with Ari once he got started and you would have to be stupid to try and stop him.

"Ari…stop," I gasped. He was really furious about this. "I'm…sorry," I choked out. A few other people were here and they were giving us strange looks. When the steps got closer to me, they suddenly stopped as Ari was whipped around. Someone punched him and Ari fell to the ground with a sickening crack. After I processed what was going on and my head cleared, I saw Fang looming over Ari, ready for another blow.

"FANG, STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I shrieked, getting in-between Ari and Fang. Fang glanced at Ari and I saw guilt flash through his dark eyes before another wall was built up, blocking all emotions. "I _don't _need your help. Just get _away from here," _I seethed. It's a different story if I punched Ari, but Fang is the last person I would allow to ever get arms distance from Ari if there was anything but rainbows and unicorns being discussed, let alone punch him.

"I—" Fang began but Iggy interrupted him by murmuring something in his ear and they both walked away. I don't get how a sweet boy like Iggy could be best friends with _Fang._ I heard Ari groan and snapped my head in that direction.

"Ari," I gasped. "_Your nose!"_ Blood started to trickle down his chin and his nose was becoming swollen and reddish-purple _already._ I pulled an extra T-shirt I kept in my backpack out, and began plugging his nose with it.

Now I felt really bad. First, I was impulsive and drew a facial features on him and accidentally dyed his hair and ugly mix of blonde and brown with a marker and a shampoo I knew wouldn't come off. How childish of me. Then Ari got super pissed and that's why he got punch, because Fang…Fang stopped him. It took a moment for that to process as well. Was Fang trying to help me? I glanced over at Fang and the usual, composed, calm guy was gone. He was slumped against the red STOP sign.

I helped Ari up just as the bus came into view and we all filed into the bus. Fang sat with Ari the first day, but today I sat with him. Nudge was upset that I didn't sit with her and pouted in the front seat, where we usually sat. Fang and Iggy sat in the seat next to us. Fang sat on the aisle seat, closest to Ari and I and finally spoke.

"I'm sorry," he said to Ari but was looking at me and we locked eyes for a moment. Iggy was right; there was a different side of Fang that I needed to learn. Maybe if Fang was at the party I could learn more about him. After all, the party _is_ tomorrow, Friday. My phone vibrated and I broke eye contact with Fang. I felt naked with Fang's warm, intense gaze on me.

I glanced at my phone and saw it was from Nudge. '_What's going on? OMG where you in a fight? Who's the hot guy next to you ;)'_ is the first thing I saw when I looked at my phone and I wanted to roll my eyes at the last comment. I texted her back _'I'll tell you on our way to class.'_ I could imagine the pout on her face when she read that message.

I turned to Ari and saw the shirt tightly placed by his nose, shades of red blooming all over _still._ I removed the shirt and saw his nose still flowing freely with blood. I quickly looked at Fang and noticed this wasn't the same guy I saw earlier. The man she saw before looked sympathetic and guilty for his actions. The man she saw now had stiff posture, clenched jaw, and hard, steely eyes. This gesture gave off a _don't-mess-with-me _vibe.

"Ari…I…I'm," I stuttered. I'm not the person who usually has to apologize so this didn't come easily. Before, when I said it and the bus stop I wasn't sincere, more like I didn't want an ass-whooping for something stupid.

"It's okay. I overreacted." Ari's voice sounded muffled under the shirt but I could hear him just fine. I gave him an encouraging smile and put my ear buds on for the rest of the ride, feeling a gaze boring into me the whole time.

* * *

The moment Nudge and I had our supplies, she bombed me with questions. "What happened? Why does that hottie have your shirt? Why is it covered in blood? Did you get in a fight? Is he your—" I cut off Nudge with her answer.

"Brother, Nudge. He's my brother, Ari, so please stop calling him _hot,_" I said nonchalantly. Her eyes widened a fraction of an inch before she nodded her head.

"Well…Fang punched Ari in the nose and it won't stop bleeding…" I glanced over at Nudge to see her reaction.

"You're welcome by the way," said a new voice behind me. It was Fang, this time the snobbish, nonchalant, Fang walked behind me. I immediately stopped walking and he practically ran into me, dropping all of his stuff while Nudge and I continued to walk in peace. I gave a triumphant smirk and Nudge started giggling.

"Max, you're _so_ asking for trouble. I don't want you getting hurt," Nudge muttered, serious once again.

"I know what I'm getting through my actions and you don't need to worry if I get hurt. I'll be fine," I mumbled in return. _I hope._ Fang was scrambling to get up and we ran with our stuff until he was out of sight and we were in the doorway of our math class.

"See you at lunch," Nudge whispered as we parted ways to opposite sides of the classroom. Iggy was already seated by the time I got to my chair and he smiled at me. His gaze quickly switched as Fang jogged into the room, his face flustered. I bit down a laugh and averted my gaze. The bell rang before he got a chance to get to his desk.

"_Why aren't you on time,_ Mr. Walker," Mr. Batchelder pointed to Fang just as he slid in his seat.

"Max…erm… _distracted_ me in the hallway, sir, I had no choice," he said with a smirk. The class started cracking up as Lissa starting glaring at me, while Nudge and I did the same to Fang. My face started to heat as Mr. Batchelder went on.

"Ms. Ride, Mr. Walker, down to the office _now,_" Mr. Batchelder raised his voice for the last part and the class silenced. I pushed my chair out and stomped over to the door, furious with the turn of events. Fang followed silently, he probably wasn't expecting to get in trouble too.

I didn't know very well how to get to the office from this corridor, so I started to back track until I ran into something hard, putting up my hands to protect myself from falling. I looked up and saw Fang's steely gaze focus intently on mine. For a moment, I was mesmerized by his midnight eyes and I was in awe at the hardness of his abs under my hands. After I realized what was happening, I pushed him away and kept walking, not giving him a second glance.

* * *

After I cleared things up with the principal for the second time already, I headed to lunch since I missed second period. I won the conversation with the principle since I was _completely innocent_. Fang just _tripped_ and fell and I happened to be close by. Case closed. I was a little late so Nudge and Iggy were already seated and so I was on my way to the lunch line.

Lissa stopped me on the way and grabbed me by the shirt.

"_Don't you dare touch my Fangy,_" Lissa attempted to seethe but her squeaky voice gave it away.

I snorted but then said, "Yeah, right, like I'd even want to." I looked down at her hands still clutched tightly to my shirt and pulled back. "Don't touch me," I said nonchalantly but it was clearly a big threat.

"Try me," Lissa smirked. Bad decision. I clenched my fist and swung, aiming for her jaw. Bulls-eye. She was pissed, I could tell, but she then changed with a smirk on her face although she was in pain. I soon felt hot sauce and spaghetti drip down my hair, all over me. Just grand. I turned to see Brigid and I kicked her in the stomach and she yelped, doubling over in pain. Damn was that school lunch hot, especially since it was poured on from behind.

I saw Iggy and Nudge make their way over to me but I just ran out of the cafeteria. The lunch was definitely hot and it burned my skin, causing me to wince. Someone grabbed my wrist and then grabbed my forearms. It was Fang, but at the moment he was the least of my problems.

"Piss off, Fang, I'm not in the mood," I muttered.

"Max, you can't keep running away from your problems," Fang advised. He held me for one second too long and I snapped. I jerked my head forward and connect with Fang's nose. The last thing I saw was Fang's blood as I ran out of the school and to the place I once called home.

**A/N: Finishes second Chapter...(pats self on back)I will get the next chapter in before Sunday FOR SURE (probably). Am I the only one not being able to figure out how to do anything. I'm so confused, it took me nearly as long to type the chapter as it did to figure out how to post it... that's a long time. Oh well. R/R!**


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: **_**I know I suck. I was supposed to update earlier but the power has been out so I couldn't get on my computer (Desktop) and I lost my whole chapter (.-.) so yeah. This wasn't as good as my first one but OH WELL. I also thought that you would rather me make it longer than update what I had on Sunday (2,700 words). Maybe. Now I'm rambling. Erm…typing too much. Carry on.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride or the characters and stuff. JP does my initials are not JP (or are they?)**

_The last thing I saw was Fang's blood as I ran out of the school and to the place I once called home._

Gasping, I leaned against the tree and wiped my forehead with my sleeve. I scratched off crusted blood from Fang's nose and sat down. My mom was still home and I couldn't go inside or else she will see me. I walked to my backyard and kept going until I reached the little batch of forest behind my house. There was a little pond in the center that I usually sat at, to think.

I sat in the mud and washed my hands in the murky water. I peeled off all of the stray noodles and tossed then into the water. I grabbed handfuls of water and poured it on my head, getting rid of the sauce. I should have seen Brigid behind me, I was…distracted. I heard my mom's truck pull out of the driveway and I made my way back to the little ranch.

Once I got in, I showered and threw on a pair of sweats and a…_friend's_ old T-shirt. By the time I ran all the way home and got ready, it was about 7th period so I still had a few hours left to myself. Since I never got to eat my lunch, I decided to order pizza. After I ordered, I heard my mom's truck pull back into the driveway. I cursed under my breath and headed for the closet—a perfect hiding place.

"MAXIMUM RIDE," my mother shrieked. I could imagine her face when she got the phone call, explaining to her what happened. "GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!" Just as my hand brushed the door knob, I turned around with a groan.

"Yes, mother?" I asked innocently.

"Why are you home? It's only been you're second day and you're already making trouble? Fights? Really Max? I thought we left that behind when we moved," my mom asked with a disappointed look written all over her face.

"This time it's not my fault, I swear," I quickly stated. I didn't want her making assumptions then we would have to move back. "She was in my way then she challenged _me._ Smart, right?"

"I thought you knew better than that," my mom replied.

"Well, then I guess you don't know me as good as you thought," I murmured under my breath but my mom caught it and whipped her head in my direction.

"You're going back to school. _Now,_" she began to raise her voice.

"But mom," I whined, which is taking it far even for me. "She humiliated me and I'm afraid to go back," I lied. That was only partly true. I was embarrassed but I didn't care. I just didn't want to get carried away and hurt them so bad; I would even feel shameful of myself. My mom looked like she wanted to say something when she opened her mouth, but just closed it again and gathered me in a hug.

That's when I heard the doorbell ring.

"Mom, can I have a twenty?" I asked holding out my hand. We've gone through this process so many times; she knew it was for pizza. She slapped a twenty into my hand and I grinned, heading for the door. I whipped it open and instead of seeing the pizza, I saw someone I never expected to see again.

"Why are you here?" I growled, venom dripping from my words.

"Maxi, don't you miss me?" Dylan said with a sneer.

"As if," I snorted. "Don't call me Maxi. Now answer my question." Dylan was my ex-boyfriend of 2 years and it was a horrible break-up.

Let's just say…_someone_ was paid the whole time and when I dumped his sorry ass, it was only because he was cheating on me with another woman,_ NOT_ because I knew about the money. He stayed silent…never answering my question. He leaned forward, trying to make a move. Well, I made mine first.

I swung my knee upward and hit him in the place where the sun don't shine. He groaned and went down on his knees before I slammed the door shut and walked away. My mom asked, "Where's the pizza?"

I didn't want to tell her about seeing Dylan, as she was oblivious to everything that happened.

"They got my order wrong so I made them take the pizza back and they are getting me another," I said nonchalantly. "So you can be on your way back to work. Don't want you getting in trouble because of me," I continued with a sickly sweet smile. Hopefully she didn't see the boy with turquoise eyes and honey-colored hair, lying on our front porch.

"Alright," my mom said, eyeing me suspiciously as she grabbed her keys. I heard the doorbell ring and prayed it was the pizza _this _time. I was starting to get really hungry. I looked through the peep hole to see a man holding a large pizza. _Finally._ I swung the door open and grabbed the pizza quickly, shoving the twenty dollar bill into his hand. I noticed Dylan was gone, probably smart enough if he knew he would have to go through me a second time.

After I finished the whole pizza, I went outside and sat on the porch stairs. I was half-hidden behind my house so the people coming off the bus couldn't see me. The bus should be here shortly, and Iggy and I had to talk. I would go to Nudge for these kinds of things, but she was on a different stop so that left me with Iggy. The bus came into view and I went deeper into the shadows.

Lissa was the first person to get off the bus and I saw a huge bruise spread across her jaw. She still had an icepack over it and wasn't giving off her perky vibe. Thank. God. Fang was off second and he noticed me right away. We locked eyes as he kept walking towards his house, never breaking contact.

A few other people I didn't know came off the bus before Ari. He didn't notice me, keeping his head down, texting and walking at the same time. He nearly tripped over the sidewalk and it took me all of my willpower _not_ to laugh out loud.

Finally, Iggy came off of the bus and he was the last person. I called Iggy over, making sure Lissa and Fang were out of sight first. He looked surprised to see me and jogged up to me, first leaving his backpack in the garage. I lead him to the pond behind my house, giving us enough privacy so that Ari wouldn't hear us. Ari probably knew by now what happened although he doesn't have the same lunch period as me.

"Max! How are you? What happened in lunch?" Iggy questioned at once.

"Lissa took the comment in math a little too _seriously,_ and tried to challenge me. _Not_ smart of her, may I add. Then Brigid got involved in something she shouldn't have and I gave her a quick pay-back," I gave it to him short.

"I knew that part. Kind of. But what happened to Fang? You should have seen his face when he walked back into the lunchroom." Iggy snickered at the last part before becoming serious once again.

"Well, let's just say that you don't hang with the smartest people. He decided to confront me and I sort of snapped and then hit him in the nose with my head," I stated nonchalantly. Iggy's eyes widened as he realized who he was hanging out with. I could tell he became a little nervous.

"I certainly don't want to be on your bad side," Iggy said with a nervous chuckle. It became a little awkward after that as stillness passed through. I began throwing rocks into the pond before Iggy cleared his throat.

"Are you still going to the party tomorrow night?" Iggy asked.

"Yeah. Where is it?" I wondered out loud.

"It's at…my house. Remember, its Lissa's house too," Iggy commented. I groaned and put my head in my hands. That means I'll have to see Brigid, Lissa, _and_ Fang. "_Please_? Fang's been ignoring me lately and I'll have no one to talk to," he trailed off at the end.

"Can I at least bring Nudge? She _loves_ parties and I'd have more 'sidekicks'," I put quotes around the word 'sidekick' with a smirk. "Lissa and Brigid better think a _third_ time when she sees the three of us. I've seen Nudge with a curling iron and it ain't peaceful." Iggy genuinely laughed at my last comment.

We became more comfortable with each other as we started rambling about different things. I learned Iggy and Lissa are _twins_ which did not help my case. Iggy was older by a minute and they were obviously fraternal. I heard footsteps along with twigs snapping and I froze, along with Iggy.

I turned around, but couldn't see anyone. Either I was really paranoid from seeing Dylan today and no one was there, or the person was hiding in the dense trees, bushes, and leaves.

"Did you hear that?" I whispered, glancing around in a circle. Iggy shook his head and we continued walking. I jumped when my phone started ringing. I glanced at Iggy and answered the phone.

"Hello?" I asked.

"MAX, GET HOME RIGHT NOW, WE NEED TO TALK!" My first instinct told me it was Ari, and I definitely didn't need another lecture in the same hour.

"Oh yeah, it's Nudge by the way," Nudge giggled over the end of the line. Before she could ask an indefinite amount of questions, I hung up gripped my phone.

"I got to go… Wish me luck from the wrath of Nudge," I grumbled as I mock shuttered.

"Bye. See you tomorrow," Iggy laughed. We walked together out of the trees until I caught sight of a curly mass of brown hair. I jogged up to her and she gathered me into a hug and squeezed me tight. I saw Iggy slip into his house and before he was out of sight, I mouthed 'help me' and he just smirked.

"Are you okay? I would _hate_ if I got humiliated at school. But then look at you! You just beat all three of them up without a word. I wonder— " Nudge didn't seem to mind that I couldn't breathe and just went on and on. I ducked and got away from Nudge's arm and she just pouted.

"Do you want to go to a party with me tomorrow night? Iggy invited me—" I stopped talking when Nudge started wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. "No! It's not like that, he's my friend and he would rather talk to me than Lissa, Fang, and Brigid."

Nudge slumped when she heard that but then raised her head again. "_Finally._ I have an excuse to take you shopping for some new clothes." When I raised my eyebrow in question, she snorted. "_Come on._ Do you really think I would let you go to a party with _popular_ people with _those_ clothes?" She gestured to my baggy T-shirt and sweats.

"Come on. We're going _now," _Nudge demanded. I whined as I let her drag me to my car. "Drive. Now." She pointed to the gas pedal and the wheel. I groaned but started the car as Nudge commanded me to drive to the mall. Fun.

* * *

The moment I stepped into the mall, I winced as Nudge squealed. A few heads turned in our direction.

"I can't believe we are doing this!" Nudge's squealing _went_ on.

"Yeah, me either." I murmured and I could tell Nudge heard me when she gave me a sharp stare.

"How can you _not_ be excited for this? Shopping is one of the best things you can do with your best friend," Nudge said.

"How can _you_ be excited for this? If all of my best friends took me shopping every time I saw them, I would have lived a very lonely life," I bluntly stated.

"Too bad. You're here and I'm taking you shopping," Nudge stated triumphantly. We walked by a Victoria's Secret and Nudge stopped dead in her tracks. I nearly walked into her as she turned to face the store. I looked to see what she was so excited about and my eyes widened.

"_No. No, no, no, no,"_ I repeated and Nudge repeated the opposite.

"No way am I going in there," I said, pulling my arm from her grasp.

"_Yes you are_," Nudge didn't let me get my arm free. When it comes to shopping, Nudge can be pretty scary.

She dragged me inside, but I didn't let her pull me into the dressing room when she grabbed a few undergarments off the shelves. It was enough of an achievement for her to get me inside the store, but nothing besides was going to happen.

"Come on. I got you inside so we might as well try these on," Nudge whined, waving a bra and underwear in my face. I shook my head and she walked away. Phew.

Nudge came back with a bag and a grin on her face. "We can go now," Nudge said, waving the bag back and forth. Just because she bought me something, doesn't mean she could make me wear it.

We walked around the mall some more with the same process. First, she tries to get me into a store and I _let_ her. Second, she picks up random clothes or accessories and fails at getting me to try them on. Third, she buys them anyways, no matter if they are big or small. Last, we walk away to get more useless things.

We ended up buying a dress, shoes, a purse, jewelry, undergarments (I don't know why), and makeup since I didn't own any, and a few other things I didn't know existed were thrown into bags. After we finished shopping, I went straight home with a goodbye from Nudge. She wanted to go at this salad bar and I declined. Salads, really? As if I would ever eat one of those.

* * *

The next day I decided to skip school. I told my mom the same excuse as yesterday and she bought it. I told her that I was still too embarrassed to face the kids at school. Of course, I didn't really care at all what the kids at school thought of me. I only stayed home because I finally had an excuse to and my mom was a sucker to my begging because I hardly did it. I almost felt bad for her. Almost.

I just sat around all day, ate some more pizza, and watched movie after movie, like someone trying to get over a break-up. Nudge came around 4:30 so we still had four hours to get ready. Now, I was sitting on my bed, waiting for Nudge to bring all of the clothes out of her car. She decided to keep the clothes at her house which was smart if she didn't want them burned or destroyed.

"I'm _so_ excited. I can't believe we are going to this party! We are gonna have so much fun!" Nudge squealed. Nudge was already dressed when she arrived in my room. She had a tight, sparkly, purple dress that went mid-thigh. It was sleeveless and showed some of her cleavage. Her huge mass of hair was straightened but she still couldn't beat my height in her black stilettos.

I was shocked at this new Nudge as she always despised the way Lissa was dressed. Her excuse was that it was a party and didn't matter how you dressed. Nudge shoved me into the bathroom.

"I'm going to give you clothes and you are going to put them on," Nudge commanded from outside.

"You can't make me," I stated defiantly, crossing my arms although she couldn't see me. Not for long, anyway. Nudge whipped open the door and stuck her bottom lip out, giving me the best Bambi eyes I have ever seen. They were the end of me.

"Please, please,_ please_?" Nudge begged. I stomped my foot like a child who didn't get what they wanted for Christmas. Sad story.

"_Fine,_" I said exasperatedly and Nudge grinned and slammed the door, but not before giving me two pieces of lacy clothing. I spread them out to see the black lacy bra and black lacy underwear from Victoria's Secret.

"Really Nudge? Why do I have to wear these?" I called through the door.

"You never know what might happen. Better wear it than regret it," she chorused, no doubt was she wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. I snorted. I tried squeezing into the undergarments and groaned.

"Nudge, the bra is too small, they make my boobs look huge," I whined, banging the door so Nudge would take a hint at my distress. The underwear was too small too, but it was bearable. The fact didn't help either that the bra was strapless.

"Bigger is better," Nudge started cracking up. Not. Funny.

"I'm gonna take it off," I threatened.

"No. Keep it on or else," Nudge threatened back. I wasn't about to ask what 'else' meant so Nudge threw the next clothing in. It was a little shirt, black and sparkly.

"It's your dress. Ours are quite similar except yours is black and mine is purple," Nudge called in, answering my questions.

"A dress? This barely fits as a T-shirt," I called again.

"Just put it on," Nudge retorted. I squeezed into the little thing. I wanted to start crying at the sight of the horrid _thing _squeezing me to death. I can take lunatic ex-boyfriends and a whole group of devils but I can't take on a pathetic dress. How sad.

"Nudge, how small do you think I am? You bought everything too small," I said.

"How do you know I bought everything small on purpose? Did you know that the smaller the clothes, the more they hug to your curves?" Nudge responded. These words sounded like they came from Lissa's mind, _not_ the almost-innocent girl on the other side of the door.

"Which, I might add, is great since you have a beautiful body. It doesn't help you always hide behind T-shirts and sweatpants." I stood there, mortified by Nudge's words. I quickly shook them off and finished getting into the dress. It came up even higher for me since I was many inches taller than Nudge.

The dress, no doubt, would show my underwear if I sat down. I told Nudge this and this is how she responded:

"See, my friend, this is why we bought undergarments to match your dress. Of course there are other reasons too but…" Nudge trailed off from her words of 'wisdom'. I walked out of the bathroom and posed for Nudge.

Nudge started squealing, jumping, and clapping.

"Come on… we still have to do your hair and makeup and accessories and attitude," Nudge started ticking off her fingers. My attitude? What was wrong with my attitude? Nudge pulled me to sit at my vanity, the worst two hours of my life began.

* * *

After many tugs of the hair, burns, coughing fits, and pokes to the eye, Nudge finally finished my makeup and hair with an hour to spare. **(A/N Did you catch that?)**

"Finally. Come on, let's go look in the mirror," Nudge grabbed me by the arm and pulled me with all her might. I walked in front of the mirror and stood there awe-struck. I've been told I was pretty… by family.

But the girl in front of me was beautiful. Her hair was straightened all the way down her back and it looked very neat. Her face was even more beautiful. Her eyes had a smoky effect and her blood red lips screamed, 'catch me if you can.'

"Come on, we still have more to do," Nudge said leading me to my shoes. I saw a black pair of seven-inch heels and nearly fainted. Wasn't I already tall enough?

"How do you expect me to walk in those," I pointed in disgust.

"We still have an hour to practice," Nudge sang. I carefully put on the black, sequined shoes and nearly fell, except for Nudge's arms wrapped around me. Nudge grabbed mine and her black handbags and we headed downstairs carefully.

After the hour was up, I felt bruised. Nudge couldn't catch me all of the times I fell and I walked like a turtle. This was so not going to work. At eight-thirty I heard a doorbell ring and I headed for the door as Nudge was touching up her pink lip-gloss. I swung open the door to find Iggy, looking at me with shock. Iggy cleared his throat.

"I…um…I'm looking for Max," he whispered.

"Ha, ha, Iggy. _Very_ funny," I gave a bitter laugh.

"_Max_? You look…different," Iggy was blushing again. I snorted at that.

"Come on Nudge, let's go," I called to Nudge and we headed to the party next door.

**A/N: I would have made it longer but my mom was yelling at me to go to bed soooo…yeah. I'm sorry it's bad, I was really rushed. I'll update by the end of the week (not setting a specific date again). Accepting criticism, and reviews so please REVIEW! Thanks =D**


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